ROLLA, MO- The Miner softball team will conclude their conference road series with doubleheaders at Southern Indiana and Bellarmine this weekend.

Missouri S&T (12-24, 6-8 GLVC) is coming off a split with McKendree and Illinois Springfield that put them tied for 10^th in the conference and within reaching distance of a postseason opportunity.
After getting their offense hot in a sweep of Lewis last Monday, the Miners carried that momentum to Illinois where they combined for 28 hits in the four games and complied 13 runs.

Olivia Young (Millstadt, IL/Belleville Township), Courtney Jackson (Parkville, MO/Park Hill South), and Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) continue to lead the offensive efforts for the Miners; all three batters are over .300 with Carley Hamann (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln Way North), Anna Burke (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville), Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield Central), and Jacey Allen (Roanoke, TX/Byron Nelson) looking at averages over .250.

Two Miner batters rank as some of the top batters and baserunners in the conference; Carley Hamann (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln Way North) ranks 5^th with 11 doubles and 6^th with .031 doubles per game; Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) ranks 1^st with .031 sacrifice hits per game, is the 3^rd toughest batter to strikeout in the league, and is 4^th in the GLVC with 0.47 stolen bases per contest.

Jacey Allen (Roanoke, TX/Byron Nelson) caught some excitement this past weekend, picking up her 3^rd homerun of the season in the Miners 7-3 game one loss to Illinois Springfield. She leads the team in this category. Gretchen Egly (Joliet, IL/Plainfield Central) currently has two homeruns while Olivia Young (Millstadt, IL/Belleville Township) and Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy) have each knocked one over this season.

Avery English (Carterville, IL/Carterville) continues her battle in the circle; she picked up two more win this past weekend to up her record to 6-4 with a 2.23 ERA to go with it. She is second on the team with 39 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .269 average against her.

English also ranks as one of the toughest pitchers in the GLVC; she is 6^th best with her 2.23 ERA and ranked 6^th with an average of just 1.48 walks allowed per game.

Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy) has been the go-to game one starter for the Miners and holds a 4.66 ERA and a 4-12 record. As the leader in strikeouts and innings pitched, she is holding teams to a .294 average against her.

Reigning National Champions, Southern Indiana, comes into Saturday's games with a 25-13 overall record and the top spot in the GLVC with a 13-3 record. They will face off against the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College later tonight before hosting the Miners.

This past weekend, the Screaming Eagles just barely escaped with a sweep of Rockhurst University. After an RBI double from Alicia Webb gave USI the win in game one, Southern Indiana would get their winning run in the top of the 5^th inning when Mary bean doubled to left field and sent Julianne Bell home for the 4-3 win.

USI's Claire Johnson currently leads the team with her .416 batting average as well as 47 hits, 37 runs, five triples, four homeruns, 27 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .673. Jennifer Leonhardt is right behind Johnson with her .388 average and 45 hits. Three other USI batters are batting over .300 with four other individuals recording homeruns this season.

In the pitching circle, Leonhardt has been the go-to for the Screaming Eagles and brings an impressive stat line. She is 1^st in the conference with her 1.21 ERA, 1^st with 15 wins, 1^st with four saves, 3^rd with a 4.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1^st with just 4.39 hits per seven innings.

The Knights of Bellarmine University (18-19, 7-9 GLVC) will play host to Drury University before facing off against the Miners this Sunday.

Bellarmine ended the past weekend with a series split of William Jewell. After taking down the Cardinals 7-4 in game one, WJC came back to blank the Knights with a 4-0 victory.

While Rachel Ayer leads the team with her .395 batting average, Samantha Smith has been the big bat for BU with her team leading 29 RBI and five homeruns.

Pitching wise, Sabrina Fussenegger has been the Knights number one; she holds a 7-10 overall record and a 2.42 ERA with 66 strikeouts this season.